More From Less... [PIC]

I always admired Studebaker for what they could do on a shoestring budget. Financially on the ropes since 1953, they managed to use that same chassis, by changing sheet metal through the Hawk years and while tail fins still ruled with the Big Three, their design teams looked to a more European look which I loved. The GT Hawk, I thought, was such an elegant looking car... and still on the 1953 chassis! But their swan song, for me, was the 1962-1963 Avanti. This Raymond Loewy designed car was hailed as "America's only 4 passenger high performance personal car". It offered a unique grill-less wedge shaped body. Again, as a cost saver, it sat on a Lark convertible chassis for extra stiffness. Their venerable 289 V8 was tweaked to 240 HP with a 4 bbl carburetor in the R1 variant by upping compression. The R2 got a Paxton supercharger and produced 289 HP. The big gun R3 was a supercharged bored out 304.5 cid engine with forged pistons with 335 HP. Again, as a cost cutter, the body was rendered in fiberglass. Front disc brakes were employed under license from Bendix. The result was a high performance light weight coupe that, in the R3 configuration, it reached an astounding 170 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats and held quite a few records. As  much as the car was praised for both looks and performance, sales in 1962 amounted to only 1200 units and fewer than 4600 in 1963. As with the other Studebaker models, consumers were wary of Studebaker's  financial situation and servicing issue if the company went under. Studebaker ceased production in '63 and although considering reintroducing it in '65, Studebaker went bankrupt in 1966. Their was a revival, as the Avanti ll, by an investment group from 1965 to the 1980s using a Chevy 350 V8.

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